Thanks to John Schultz for the heads up on a recent article on 4G in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Race is on again in Twin Cities for faster wireless networks).

According to the article, there may be some good news for folks in the Twin Cities…

To keep up, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint are or soon will be installing faster, higher-capacity 4G (fourth generation) networks in the Twin Cities. By late this year or early in 2011, they will make Web browsing by phone as fast as using a wired connection.

There are some serious unknowns that might postpone any real celebration. We don’t know the price of the subscription and we don’t know the prices of the new 4G-enabled phones/devices. But it’s coming and that’s good news. The benefits of 4G included faster browsing, which is always better but also added functionality – such as videoconferencing and greater online interactivity.

Another unknown is plans for 4G in rural areas. However I happened to be talking Mark Hamilton from TTM yesterday. They have an ARRA application in (Round Two) to build middle fiber that would support 4G; other projects such as Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group could also help with 4G in rural areas.